Guide to photographing Children dressing up

There are steps in every child’s world that leave long lasting memories and many of these moments mean as much to the parents as they do to the children.  Never underestimate what you are capturing on behalf of a parent whether it is their first birthday or a day in the life of a child on Halloween or at Christmas.

Most parents are seeking a photographic collection and a range of images which is varied, even if the main goal is the final shots dressed up in costume, think about all the shots before too. Create an experience and think about how many photographs you are aiming for, CPT calls this ‘the final destination’. Always consider first what the destination goal is.

If you have never done a dress up photographic shoot before, experiment and play. Firstly start with the shots of the child with their parents and then start to take individual images of the child. Clothing is important - make sure the child is styled in casual clothing that captures the true essence of who they are first, only then work through to the treat of dressing up. Remember to capture the ‘dressing up’ stage as mum helps to create the look, this will make lovely ‘fill in’ images within an album or multi-frame. These moments with mum are beautiful so, as the professional, make sure that mother and child are positioned in the perfect light just as you would a bride getting ready on the morning of the wedding day. Create a range of unexpected images for the parents as these fun and gentle moments will show the relationship the children share with the parents.

Whether shooting in natural or artificial light make the image you capture differ from others, experiment with alternative backgrounds, woodlands, pathways, beaches, overgrown gardens think “The Secret Garden” or “Narnia”. Make your location work, think out of the box and look around at the options you have and be different! Give yourself a reputation for being different - it is too easy to do what others do, be alternative and treat the shoot as an adventure for your creativity.  Capture the detail and form a range of delicious images that a parent could never let go.

If you are a professional and are selling your images, the key to creating an alternative photographic shoot is to make sure the service you offer works primarily to drive traffic to the business,  and secondly that it works actively for the business too. Even though a Halloween or Christmas shot is exciting to a child of four it needs also to be productive for you as you have those overheads to cover!

Make sure your sales tools support you, as generally clients buy what they see. Design a multi-frame which includes at least six images, the prefect product should display different aspects of the whole shoot and should motivate and inspire the clients to invest in that product.